Alternate Character Interpretation: Bill Sikes has three possiblePet the Dog moments: carrying an unconscious Oliver for a long ways while fleeing from the police after the failed break-in (although that may have been to keep Oliver from identifying him if he was captured), seeming pensive and troubled after killing Nancy (although that might have been simple fear of the punishment he'd face for the murder), and volunteering to help put out a fire while he's roaming the countryside as a fugitive (which can be read as an unsuccessful attempt to bury his own guilt by denying his nature).
Ensemble Dark Horse: The Artful Dodger is generally considered the most popular character in the story. Unsurprisingly, he's had many adaptations spotlighting him instead of Oliver.
Fanon: Nancy being a prostitute in the literal sense. Although she is referred to as such in a preface to the 1841 edition, it's been pointed out that at the time 'prostitute' simply referred to a woman living out of wedlock or being The Mistress (it's said that Nancy lives with Bill and they clearly aren't married). In fact, Nancy alludes to her only crime being thieving for Fagin, and the preface is the only mention of her being a prostitute.
Also, Nancy, Charley and The Artful Dodger grabbing Oliver and bringing him back to Fagin's clutches. Nancy, however, ends up excused for this through virtue of having a Heroic BSoD when she fully realizes how screwed up this was, and openly calls Fagin out before collapsing out of stress.
Monks's biggest one is arranging to have his 12-year-old half-brother Oliver's life completely destroyed without real reason other than pettiness and jealousy. Specially marked when he takes the Orphans Plot Trinkets from Bumble and Corney and tosses them into the Thames so no one will ever be able to prove that Oliver is the son of Agnes and Edwin Leeford.
Nightmare Fuel: Nancy's death is horrifically violent; there's a reason why performing it drove Dickens' blood pressure right up.
Once Original, Now Common: Charles Dickens got scandalized reactions from critics for depicting Nancy sympathetically because she was a thief! Nowadays she's considered one of the most iconic examples of the Hooker with a Heart of Gold.
Overshadowed by Controversy: It's very difficult to talk about this novel without acknowledging that Fagin is an offensive Jewish stereotype, not at all helped by Dickens' commentary and other characters referring to him as "the Jew" more than by his real name. Dickens was called out for this by other Jews multiple times for the rest of his life and expressed genuine regret for mistakenly believing that people in Real Life who act like Fagin are often Jews, and included several sympathetic Jewish characters in his final completed novel, Our Mutual Friend. Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding Fagin has never gone away and likely never will, especially since Oliver Twist is one of Dickens' most famous novels while Our Mutual Friend was not a success during his lifetime, neither critically nor financially, and while it has since been positively re-assessed, it still doesn't have nearly the same level of public knowledge as Oliver Twist, so people still Mis-blame Dickens as an anti-Semite despite his later rejection of such beliefs.
Tear Jerker: Nancy's death. Sure, it's incredibly melodramatic and horrific, but it's heartbreaking when, knowing she's about to die, Nancy pulls out Rose's handkerchief and pleads to God for mercy before Sikes strikes her down.
Edwin Leefort, married at about twenty to a thirty-year-old woman, was treated almost like a child sold to some old hag, while him taking interest in a nineteen-year old girl more than ten years later, was perfectly okay in terms of age.
Oliver is pure-hearted and virtuous, even after having been raised in the workhouse and having fallen in with criminals...due to being the son of a gentleman and having inherited his likewise well-bred mother's gentle nature. Today this reeks of classism.
Dickens' vivid and social descriptions of the problems of poor people in society continue to move readers today, and actually shocked 19th century readers who weren't used to hearing about all these hidden atrocities.
Mr. Bumble's objection to the legal presumption at the time that his wife acts at his direction, and his observation that most actual marriages don't work that way, while self-serving and intended to illustrate that he is a Henpecked Husband, resonates with modern readers who are likely to find the presumption that men rule their wives to be archaic.
The Woobie: Dickens' bread and butter was this trope. Oliver and Nancy are both examples.
Chafing at the antisemitic portrayal of Fagin, Will Eisner wrote a comic in which Fagin is a misunderstood Anti-Villain. Or, to be more precise, in which Fagin has gone Then Let Me Be Evil to the world combined with what, if it had been published at the time Dickens wrote in, would have been rather pointed social commentary about the ill effects of limiting the career paths of an entire group.
Then Let Me Be Evil was also the solution to Fagin's characterization in the 1999 and 2007 miniseries. In fact, the 2007 version makes him relatively benevolent, and plays up the extent to which he is victimized by contemporary antisemitism.
The Saban Adventures cartoon paints Oliver as less of a pinball protagonist. He's a little more wise to Fagin and Sykes/Sikes than his book counterpart and actively tries to avoid them, and due to a few story changes takes a more active role in driving it forward (his mother's alive instead of dead, and he's trying to find her).
Bittersweet Ending: The 2007 series rather pointedly contrasts Oliver's final Happy Ending, living in luxury with his loving relatives, with Dodger still being on the streets and devastated by losing everything and everyone he's ever cared about. The final shots imply his bitterness will turn him into another Bill Sikes.
Ethnic Scrappy: Fagin deserves special mention in the 1948 adaptation because, although references to him being Jewish were removed from the text by the author personally, David Lean and Alec Guinness took inspiration from the original illustrations - resulting in Fagin looking like an antisemitic caricature (which Lean tried to defend by saying the script didn't mention him being Jewish). It was seen as especially offensive considering it was only three years after The Holocaust!
Harsher in Hindsight: In the 1997 adaptation, Dodger is sent to prison instead of Australia, presumably not to offend Australians. Dodger's talk about all the things he'll learn in prison becomes less funny and more disturbing the older you get.
that at the time 'prostitute' simply referred to a woman living out of wedlock or being The Mistress (it's said that Nancy lives with Bill and they clearly aren't married). In fact, Nancy alludes to her only crime being thieving for Fagin, and the preface is the only mention of her being a prostitute.